Cishan Tribe, located on a sloped landscape plaza in front of Handan MixC One Mall, and covering approximately 3,200㎡, is a unique cultural-themed kids’ playscape that blends cultural heritage with contemporary joy.

Project overview

The Cishan Tribe is a children’s activity space themed around cultural heritage, deeply rooted in the cultural origins of Handan, a city with a 3,100-year history. Inspired by the local 8,000-year-old Neolithic Cishan culture—one of the cradles of Chinese civilization and an early site of agriculture and animal domestication—the design by XISUI integrates Handan’s distinct historical symbols to immerse children in an environment that reflects the lifestyle of the Cishan tribe 8,000 years ago.

Project background and challenges

The Cishan Tribe is situated on the green space in front of Handan MixC One Mall, which is located 2 kilometers east of Handan East Station. This unique attraction is developed by the same developer as the commercial complex. The vision was to

create an outdoor, free children’s activity space for the public that would also ignite regional vitality and attract popularity, attention, and foot traffic to the commercial center.

Handan, a city with a rich 3,100-year urban history, is historically significant due to the Wu’an Cishan culture from the Neolithic era. Approximately 8,000 years ago, the early Neolithic ancestors of Cishan thrived here, initiating a new era of agricultural civilization. It is also the site where millet and domestic chickens were first discovered in the world.

The challenge of the project lay in integrating the historical narrative of cultural relics into the children’s activity space in an engaging manner, responding to the local historical context, while meeting the needs of contemporary commerce and parent-child activities. Additionally, it necessitated presenting a concise and unified design across the various sizes and materials of children’s play facilities, maintaining the site’s inclusiveness and the clear skyline.

Design solutions

Drawing inspiration from Handan’s distinct historical symbols, the design team incorporated elements such as round-topped wooden huts, domestic chickens, millet, and walnuts into children’s activity facilities, reflecting the primitive tribal lifestyle of Cishan 8,000 years ago. The use of natural materials, including raw woods, wood-plastic composites, and stones, preserves the features of primitive dwellings and allows children to feel as if they have traveled back to an ancient tribe while playing.

Key installations include:

1. Egg-Hatching Chicken Installation: A multifunctional play structure combining slides, climbing nets, tunnels, and observation points. Inspired by a hen incubating eggs, it symbolizes nurturing and the rich heritage of Cishan culture. In addition to representing “nurturing”, it also signifies the uninterrupted history of Handan, a cultural city influenced by Cishan, for thousands of years. Additionally, it reflects the unique historical significance of Cishan as the earliest site of chicken domestication and breeding worldwide.
2. Millet Arch Sculpture: The entrance sculpture with specimen recognition and kaleidoscope functions, representing Cishan as the earliest site of millet cultivation.
3. Walnut Seat: A large seating area symbolizing the origin of walnuts in the Central Plains, incorporating fun elements like lying nets, photo spots, and seating for multiple people.
4. Running Tripod Bowl: The Tripod Bowl-themed installation allows children to experience the fun of spinning, running quickly, and challenging the centrifugal force of gravity. It also commemorates the pottery tripod bowls unearthed from the Cishan cultural site.
5. Tribal Wooden House: A structure featuring swings, climbing nets, hanging ropes, and a pavilion for resting, reflecting the architectural style of ancient Cishan dwellings, characterized by domed wooden structure.

Project impact and significance

Cishan Tribe is more than just a leisure spot; it merges history with modernity, and education with recreation. This free public outdoor space allows children to play, exercise, and learn about the region’s history, making it both educational and entertaining. Through the fusion of cultural features with various activities, it reimagines historical significance for modern communal enjoyment, enhancing the area’s vitality and appeal.

Furthermore, the project responds to the local historical context and meets the aesthetic and functional needs of commercial spaces and parent-child activities. By immersing children in the play of 8,000-year-old Cishan culture, it strengthens cultural identity and historical awareness. The harmonious integration of the Cishan Tribe project with its surroundings has contributed to its success in attracting tourists and locals, offering leisure and relaxation, and subsequently establishing itself as a new cultural and commercial landmark in Handan City.